Former US Sen Mark Hatfield of Oregon dies at 89

FILE - In this May 3, 2003 file photo, former U.S. Sen. Mark Hatfield, R-Ore., is shown in a file photo in Portland, Ore. Hatfield, an outspoken critic of war whose liberal views often put him at odds with fellow Republicans, died Sunday, Aug. 7, 2011. He was 89. (AP Photo/The Oregonian, Ben Brink, File)
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FILE - In this May 3, 2003 file photo, former U.S. Sen. Mark Hatfield, R-Ore., is shown in a file photo in Portland, Ore. Hatfield, an outspoken critic of war whose liberal views often put him at odds with fellow Republicans, died Sunday, Aug. 7, 2011. He was 89. (AP Photo/The Oregonian, Ben Brink, File)
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FILE - In this Aug. 12, 1996 file photo, former Oregon Sen. Mark Hatfield poses for a photo in his Portland, Ore., office. Hatfield, an outspoken critic of war whose liberal views often put him at odds with fellow Republicans, died Sunday, Aug. 7, 2011. He was 89. (AP Photo/Don Ryan, File)— AP

FILE - In this November 1958 file photo, then Gov.-elect Mark Hatfield of Oregon, receives a phone call from Vice President Richard Nixon congratulating him on his victory over Gov. Robert D. Holmes. Hatfield, an outspoken critic of war whose liberal views often put him at odds with fellow Republicans, died Sunday, Aug. 7, 2011. He was 89. (AP File Photo)— AP

FILE - In this November 1958 file photo, then Gov.-elect Mark Hatfield of Oregon, receives a phone call from Vice President Richard Nixon congratulating him on his victory over Gov. Robert D. Holmes. Hatfield, an outspoken critic of war whose liberal views often put him at odds with fellow Republicans, died Sunday, Aug. 7, 2011. He was 89. (AP File Photo)
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FILE - In this Feb. 15, 1983 file photo, Sen., Mark Hatfield R-Ore., is shown during a new conference in Washington. Hatfield, an outspoken critic of war whose liberal views often put him at odds with fellow Republicans, died Sunday, Aug. 7, 2011. He was 89. (AP File Photo)— AP

FILE - In this Feb. 15, 1983 file photo, Sen., Mark Hatfield R-Ore., is shown during a new conference in Washington. Hatfield, an outspoken critic of war whose liberal views often put him at odds with fellow Republicans, died Sunday, Aug. 7, 2011. He was 89. (AP File Photo)
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FILE - In this Jan. 8, 2007 file photo, former Oregon Republican Governor and U.S. Senator Mark Hatfield waves to members of the House as the 2007 Oregon legislative session opens at the Capitol in Salem, Ore. Hatfield, an outspoken critic of war whose liberal views often put him at odds with fellow Republicans, died Sunday, Aug. 7, 2011. He was 89. (AP Photo/Don Ryan, File)— AP

FILE - In this Jan. 8, 2007 file photo, former Oregon Republican Governor and U.S. Senator Mark Hatfield waves to members of the House as the 2007 Oregon legislative session opens at the Capitol in Salem, Ore. Hatfield, an outspoken critic of war whose liberal views often put him at odds with fellow Republicans, died Sunday, Aug. 7, 2011. He was 89. (AP Photo/Don Ryan, File)
/ AP

PORTLAND, Ore. 
As a 23-year-old Navy officer in 1945, Mark Hatfield was among the first American servicemen to personally see the destruction wrought upon Hiroshima by an atomic bomb.

It was an experience that helped shape Hatfield into an outspoken critic of war as he went on to become a two-term Republican Oregon governor then the longest-serving U.S. senator in Oregon history.

Hatfield - one of the most influential politicians the state has seen - died in Portland Sunday night at age 89, said his longtime friend and former aide, Gerry Frank.

The Oregonian reported he passed away at a care center. The cause of death was not immediately released. Hatfield had become increasingly frail over the years.

He was elected governor of Oregon in 1958 and re-elected in 1962 before winning his first U.S. Senate campaign in 1966. He served five terms in the Senate, from 1967 to 1997.

Hatfield is best known at the national level for his pacifist ways, which often put him at odds with fellow Republicans but endeared him to many Oregonians.

At the 1965 National Governors Conference in Los Angeles, he was denounced as a traitor for casting the lone "no" vote among 50 governors on a resolution supporting President Johnson's policy in Vietnam. In the early 1970s, he joined then-Democratic Sen. George McGovern of South Dakota to sponsor an amendment seeking to end the Vietnam War. A decade later, he helped launch a campaign for a nuclear weapons freeze.

Oregonians remembered Hatfield for his considerable accomplishments and for an independent streak the moderate Republican showed during five decades in public office.

"Senator Hatfield played an enormous role in making Oregon what it is today," said U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, a Democrat. "He should also be remembered, in this age of bitter partisanship, for his bipartisan and gracious diplomacy."

A similar message came from U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, another Democrat: "He was a giant and the kind of senator America needs now more than ever. He was the person who brought the Senate together on issue after issue."

As chairman and later ranking Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Hatfield steered millions of dollars to public works projects in his home state. The projects ranged from national scenic areas and hydropower dams to the state university system and the Marine Science Center that bears his name in Newport, Ore.

"No one has had a more profound impact on Oregon in the last half-century than Mark Hatfield," said Gov. John Kitzhaber, a Democrat. "We've lost a true statesman whose legacy lives on in his countless contributions to Oregon's quality of life. Senator Hatfield's moral compass, independence and willingness to reach across the aisle are an inspiration to me and countless Oregonians."

Allen Alley, chairman of the Oregon Republican Party, called Hatfield, "a quintessential Oregonian and a true national statesman."

Hatfield once said that his major accomplishments included ushering through Congress a ban on U.S. nuclear weapons testing in 1987.

"Every president other than Eisenhower has been seduced by the military concept that that is our sole measurement of our national security and the more bombs we build, the more secure we are," Hatfield said a decade later.